Halloween Candy Anyone?

As a kid, Halloween was one of my favorite holidays- not quite as good as Christmas, but way better than Thanksgiving. I still enjoy Halloween, but as a dentist I realize it can be hazardous to the health of our teeth. Candy sales approach $2 billion every Halloween. And as we’ve mentioned numerous times in this blog, sugar (NOT the lack of brushing and flossing) is the main culprit in causing tooth decay (aka- cavities).

So what can YOU do this year (other than encouraging your kid to dress up as a dentist…lol) to make Halloween a bit safer for teeth?

First, resist the urge to buy your Halloween candy supply early. I firmly believe that any candy bought more than three days before Trick or Treat night often ends up rotting your family’s teeth before the big night. (Do I lie?)

Second, consider handing out non-decay causing goodies instead of candy. About.com and NationalServiceResources.org have lists of some good alternatives. These include:

Glow-sticks

Sugar free gum

Halloween stickers

Small cans of playdoh

Pencils with Halloween erasers

Halloween bouncy balls

Temporary tattoos

Small bottles of bubbles

Temporary tattoos

Crayons

Coins (pennies, nickels, dimes)

Superballs

“Slime”

Sugar-free candy

Origami paper & instructions

Bubbles

Third, make sure your little ones only dip into their candy booty at meal times (when they’re likely feeding the sugar bugs anyway) and maybe one other time during the day (if they’ve been good, of course). Remember, it’s not necessarily “how much” sugar we get, but rather “how often” that determines how many cavities we get.

So have fun this Halloween! But try not to make your teeth “scream”. Otherwise, you may end up looking like Jack up above.